paperchase

paperchasepa‧per‧chase /ˈpeɪpəˌtʃeɪs-pər-/ noun [countable usually singular] disapproving1an administrativeprocess that takes more time and uses more documents than seem reasonableIt is possible to claim back the tax, but this involves something of a paperchase.2FINANCE an occasion when a company sells a lot of new shares to finance a series of takeovers SYN WALLPAPER3a very carefulsearch through a large amount of documents or booksIt took a long paperchase through the archives to find the report.